Instagram Features brings videos up to 90 minutes and arrives on Apple TV also in Italy

Instagram is experimenting with a format that could change the way you post and watch videos on the platform. Is calledFeaturesand allows a select group of creators to share horizontal content up to 90 minutes long by linking directly to Reels. The experimentation started in Brazil and has now arrived in the United States. At the same time, Meta has distributed the Instagram application for Apple TV, already available in Italy. Two distinct but complementary initiatives, which show the social network's desire to compete with YouTube also in long-term entertainment.

Instagram Features: how 90 minute videos work

As reported byThe Hollywood Reporterand taken up by iSpazio, Instagram has started an experiment dedicated to horizontal video content in the United States. The Features format allows you to publish videos lasting up to 90 minutes, overcoming the predominantly short content-oriented approach that characterizes the Reels experience.

The function is initially aimed at a limited number of creators, in particular those who create podcasts, comedy shows and productions that require longer viewing times. It is therefore not a general distribution: at the moment the information available describes a limited test, without an announced date for the extension to all users.

The choice of the horizontal format is significant because it allows us to host productions conceived for traditional viewing, without forcing the authors to reduce each content to the duration and vertical setting of short videos.

From Reels to full content without leaving Instagram

The central element of Features is theintegrationwith Reels. A creator can combine a full video with one or more short clips, turning the latter into direct links to the full version. Anyone who comes across a segment of a podcast while scrolling through the Reels can then continue watching or open the full episode without leaving Instagram.

It is an important change especially for those who use social media as a promotional channel. Currently, many authors publish short excerpts from their programs to attract audiences to content hosted elsewhere. The new format instead aims to keep both the discovery and playback of the entire video within the same platform.

Tessa Lyons, vice president of product at Instagram, explained that long content will also be able to be suggested in the Explore section and other areas of the application. On the economic side, Meta considers Features an opportunity to allow established creators to bring already sponsored productions to the platform and to develop monetization possibilities aimed at less structured authors. However, specific economic programs or conditions of access to revenues have not been described in the available information.

Instagram arrives on Apple TV also in Italy

The version for tvOS is already available in the Italian store and requirestvOS 26.0 or later.

The television experience is designed primarily for the enjoyment of video content, rather than for fully reproducing the smartphone interface. The application allows you to watch Reels, longer videos and live programs, organizing the content into channels dedicated to personal interests.

Categories include comedy, sports and content from creators you follow. The aim is to offer navigation suitable for the television, where the choice of programs and continuous playback take on greater importance than the manual scrolling typical of the smartphone.

Continuous playback and access via iPhone

Instagram Features - One of the most practical features of the application is the possibility of resume viewing on a different screen. Content started on iPhone can be continued on the TV where it left off, making it easier to switch between mobile and home viewing.

Account access has also been adapted to use with the remote control. In fact, the official screens show a procedure that allows you to confirm authentication through a notification received on the iPhone, avoiding manually typing the password on the television.

The channels also offer videos that play automatically in succession, a solution designed for those who want to watch different content without having to continuously select the next video.

Meta's strategy to compete with YouTube

Instagram's interest in long videos is nothing new. The platform had already attempted to enter this segment with IGTV, a project later abandoned as attention focused on Reels. Features represents a different approach: rather than separating long-form content from the main experience, it connects it directly to short videos through which users discover new creators.

The presence on televisions completes this strategy. Instagram for TV debuted on Amazon Fire TV devices in the US in December 2025. Expansion continued to Google TV in February 2026 and to Samsung smart TVs in June of that year. On that occasion Meta had already illustrated its interest in horizontal videos, longer productions, series divided into episodes and live broadcasts.

The combination of Features and the Apple TV application makes the direction taken more evident: using Reels to make content known, offering authors a space to publish the full versions and allowing the public to also watch them on TV.

The competition mainly concerns YouTube, but it is part of a market in which Netflix and Disney are also showing interest in video podcasts and creator productions. For Instagram, the actual availability of 90-minute videos remains linked to the outcome of the experiment. The application for Apple TV, however, already constitutes a concrete expansion of the platform, also accessible to Italian users who have a compatible device.

Editorial source consulted:iSpace.